Pope Francis (front center) laughs during a meeting of bishops at the headquarters of the Korean Episcopal Conference in Seoul on the first day of the pontiff's five-day visit.

Photo: Handout, Getty Images

Pope Francis (front center) laughs during a meeting of bishops at...

Image 3 of 9

BEIJING, CHINA - AUGUST 14: A Chinese Catholic woman leaves a religious gift shop at the government sanctioned Xishiku Catholic Church on August 14, 2014 in Beijing, China. In his first visit to Asia, Pope Francis sent a rare message of goodwill to China's President Xi Jinpeng today before landing in Seoul, South Korea. There have been no official relations between China and the Vatican since 1949. The Catholic Church in China is split into two avenues of worship: a state sanctioned Church known as the Patriotic Association that answers to the Communist Party, and underground Churches where worshippers are loyal to the Pope in Rome. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Photo: Kevin Frayer, Getty Images

BEIJING, CHINA - AUGUST 14: A Chinese Catholic woman leaves a...

Image 4 of 9

TANAUAN, LEYTE, PHILIPPINES - AUGUST 14: Students from a local school climb over debris to see over a fence and watch a performance during the Tanauan Fiesta, Pasaka Parade on August 14, 2014 in Tanauan, Leyte, Philippines. Residents of Tacloban city and the surrounding areas continue to focus on rebuilding their lives nine months after Typhoon Haiyan struck the coast on November 8, 2013, leaving more than 6000 dead and many more homeless. With many businesses and government operations back up and running and with the recent start of the years typhoon season, permanent housing continues to be the main focus with many families still living in temporary accommodation. As well as continuing recovery efforts Leyte is preparing for the arrival of Pope Francis, who will visit the region from January 15- 19. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Photo: Chris McGrath, Getty Images

TANAUAN, LEYTE, PHILIPPINES - AUGUST 14: Students from a local...

Image 5 of 9

BEIJING, CHINA - AUGUST 14: Chinese Catholics pray leave a religious gift shop at the government sanctioned Xishiku Catholic Church on August 14, 2014 in Beijing, China. In his first visit to Asia, Pope Francis sent a rare message of goodwill to China's President Xi Jinpeng today before landing in Seoul, South Korea. There have been no official relations between China and the Vatican since 1949. The Catholic Church in China is split into two avenues of worship: a state sanctioned Church known as the Patriotic Association that answers to the Communist Party, and underground Churches where worshippers are loyal to the Pope in Rome. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Photo: Kevin Frayer, Getty Images

BEIJING, CHINA - AUGUST 14: Chinese Catholics pray leave a...

Image 6 of 9

Pope Francis waves from a car after his arrival in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014. As Francis became the first pope in 25 years to visit South Korea on Thursday, Seoul's never-timid rival, North Korea, made its presence felt by firing three short-range projectiles less than an hour before he arrived, officials said. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Lim Hun-jung) KOREA OUT

Photo: Lim Hun-jung, Associated Press

Pope Francis waves from a car after his arrival in Seoul, South...

Image 7 of 9

BEIJING, CHINA - AUGUST 14: Chinese Catholics unfurl an official banner at the government sanctioned Xishiku Catholic Church on August 14, 2014 in Beijing, China. In his first visit to Asia, Pope Francis sent a rare message of goodwill to China's President Xi Jinpeng today before landing in Seoul, South Korea. There have been no official relations between China and the Vatican since 1949. The Catholic Church in China is split into two avenues of worship: a state sanctioned Church known as the Patriotic Association that answers to the Communist Party, and underground Churches where worshippers are loyal to the Pope in Rome. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Photo: Kevin Frayer, Getty Images

BEIJING, CHINA - AUGUST 14: Chinese Catholics unfurl an official...

Image 8 of 9

Pope Francis (top R) speaks during a mass in front of thousands of followers at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on August 15, 2014. Pope Francis met relatives of South Korea's ferry disaster as 45,000 ecstatic people packed into a sports stadium for a mass on the first papal trip to Asia in 15 years. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTOVINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images

DAEJEON , South Korea -- - Pope Francis urged Asia's Catholic youth on Friday to renounce the materialism that afflicts much of Asian society today and reject "inhuman" economic systems that disenfranchise the poor, pressing his economic agenda in one of Asia's powerhouses where financial gain is a key barometer of success.

Francis received a boisterous welcome from tens of thousands of young Asians as he celebrated his first public Mass in South Korea, a country with a small but growing church that is seen by the Vatican as a model for the rest of the world.

Francis took a high-speed train to the central city of Daejeon, where Catholic youths from across Asia have been meeting for the Asian version of World Youth Day.

In his homily, Francis urged the young people to be a force of renewal and hope for society.

"May they combat the allure of a materialism that stifles authentic spiritual and cultural values and the spirit of unbridled competition which generates selfishness and strife," he said in Italian that was translated into Korean. "May they also reject inhuman economic models which create new forms of poverty and marginalize workers."

His message will be a tough sell in South Korea, which has grown from the destruction and poverty of the Korean War of the 1950s into one of Asia's top economies. Many link success with ostentatious displays of status and wealth. Competition among the young, especially for places at elite schools, starts as early as pre-kindergarten and is fierce. The country has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Francis said that in such "outwardly affluent" societies, people often experience "inner sadness and emptiness. Upon how many of our young people has this despair taken its toll!"

Daejeon's soccer stadium has a capacity of 50,000 and was nearly full hours before Francis arrived. Handkerchief-waving crowds led in chants of "Viva il papa!" welcomed him as his open-sided vehicle, with a simple canopy overhead, made its way slowly to the stadium and then inside.

Before Mass got under way, Francis met with about a dozen survivors of South Korea's April ferry disaster and relatives of the dead who are demanding a government inquiry into the sinking.

Most of the more than 300 people killed were high school students on a class trip. Their relatives are pushing lawmakers to set up an independent, transparent probe. The ruling party is opposed because it says a parliamentary committee doesn't have the power to indict.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, has said Francis wouldn't intervene in the issue but would merely offer comfort to the families. A banner outside the stadium featured a photo of the pope and read "Please wipe the tears of the Sewol families."